Cleaning of sacks, bags, or like containers



July 13, 1943. V c, L. K[NG 2,324,456

CLEANING OF SACKS, BAGS, ON LIKE CONTAINERS Filed'June 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l July13, 1943. Q 0 Km W 2,324,456

CLEANING OF SACKS, BAGS, ON LIKE CONTAINERS Filed June 9, 1941 3-Sheets-Sheet 2 I "w. Q QW July 13, 1943. c. L. KING 2,324,456

I CLEANING 0F SACKS, BAGS, 0N LIKE CO NIAINERS' Filed June 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3" Patented July 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE CLEANING OF SACKS, BAGS, OR LIKE CONTAINERS Application June 9, 1941, Serial No. 397,309 In Great Britain May 10, 1940 7 Claims.

This invention relates to the cleaning of sacks, bags or the like which have contained flour or pulverised materials and which may leave in the sacks or bags or adhering thereto a quantity of dry orpartly dry flour, offal or powder.

More particularly the invention is concerned with the treatment of sacks or bags of canvas, hessian, or calico in which for example flour or meal has been carried.

When such sacks are emptied, and if as has often happened, the sacks when full have been exposed to the weather, there is left in the sacks not onlya quantity of dried powder or partly dried flour, but there is left adhering to the material a quantity of partially dried flakes or paste which is diflicult to remove.

Hitherto such sacks have had to be cleaned by hand through the medium of brushes, wooden beaters and so forth which mechanically break up the adhering clods and paste or partly dried substance and subsequently beating and brushing the sacks. This work entails considerable time and labor and the object of the invention hereinafter described is a machine by which these operations of breaking up the clods, beating and brllishing are performed quickly and mechanica 1y.

The invention consists in a machine for cleaning sacks, bags or the like in which the article is cleaned by portions thereof being exposed in succession to the action of beaters and brushes when in the form of a balloon-like loop or pneumatic cushion.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l is a front elevation of the machine.

Figure 2 is a transverse horizontal section across the upper part of the machine.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating the cleaning of a sack. V

In carrying the invention into effect according to one embodiment the machine comprises a boxlike frame or housing (1 having a removable top I) to allow inspection or repair of the internal parts. The lower part of the housing or casing comprises inwardly sloping plates 0 of a funnel or hopper-shaped construction to allow of the discharge of the material.

Within the casing is arranged a horizontal shaft 0! upon which is carried a pair of spider frames e, the arms of which frame are designed to carry the heater and brushing members as will be hereshaft is supported in the walls of the casing a upon suitable bearings 1, projects outside the casing and a driving pulley or other member g is fitted thereon to be belt or chain driven, or where desired the shaft may be directly driven by means of an electric motor for example.

Each set of beating and brushing appliances within the casing is arranged side by side upon the centre shaft 0! and each set comprises two metal tipped beaters hcf leather or the like arranged oppositely to one another and alternately therewith two brushes is opposite one another and combined with blades or vanes Z to exert a beating action on the air within the casing. One such construction comprises a pair of beaters h preferably of leather, riveted at h by their inner ends upon one of the spider frames e, the outer end of the beaters being split as shown in Figure 2, and the tip of each split portion having riveted or otherwise secured thereto metallic plates m preferably of steel. These pairs of beaters are arranged on the-frames at 180 apart around the shaft and those on one frame relatively staggered with those on the other frame. Alternating with these two oppositely arranged sets of beaters there are arranged also 180 apart, the brushes k and the air beater vanes l assooiated therewith.

As stated above the two spider frames e are thus placed side by side on the center driving shaft d and the heaters and brushes of one set would be staggered at 90 around the shaft relatively to the other set.

Arranged in one side wall of the casing a (the righthand wall Figure 3) is a horizontal slot oropening 11 having a fixed guard and bracket plate 11. at each end, and within such slot is normally positioned and parallel therewith a roller 0 freely carried upon a spindle o the ends of which project beyond the roller ends. Links p, Figure 4, are attached at the projecting ends of the spindle o, and the spindleends are each inafter described. One end of the shaft (1, which 5 supported in a bushing q adapted to slide in a slotted plate 7" secured to the guard bracket n. The bushingq is under the influence of a spring s encircling a tail piece attached to the bushing q and one end of the spring constantly presses the bushing q in one direction against an adjustable stop q, whilst the other end of the spring abuts against a part of the plate 1".

To enable the roller 0 to be withdrawn outwards from its normal position in the slot n the outer end of the link p is pivoted to one arm 15 of a double armed lever fulcrummed at t on the guard bracket n, the other arm u of the lever being connected to the upper end of a link 11., its lower end being pivoted to an actuating treadle '0 fulcrummed at v at the base of the machine. By depressing the pedal it will be seen that the roller will be moved outwards away from the slot 11 against the force of the spring s and when the treadle is released the roller will resume its position in the slot.

When the roller 0 is withdrawn from the slot,

a space is provided which allows a sack to be placed in the machine so that it may be cleaned. For this purpose, the sack is threaded beneath the roller 0, passed upward across the slot 11. around the inner side of the roller and the upper part of the sack is held by the operator, see Figure 3. The treadle o is now released so that the sack is pressed inwards into the casing and the beaters h and brushes k are caused to rotate in the direction of the arrow at a suitable speed, at about 400 R. P. M. by way of example.

As the heaters and brushes together with the blades Z rotate, air is drawn in through the slot 7 and discharged through the open bottom of the housing and thus there will be produced a powerful suction action in the vicinity of the slot by which the sack tends to be drawn into the casing, but this action is controlled in two ways. Firstly there is secured between the double armed levers t and it. which control the movement of the roller, a bar w with a strip of rubber w mounted thereon, and the action of this bar which may be referred to as a retarder, grips by means of the rubber strip the lower part of the sack and D e se it against the front wall of the machine casing so that the lower part of the sack cannot be drawn into the machine. Secondly the upper part of the sack is held by the operator and as the beat ers commence to rotate the operator feels the suction effect and he permits the upper portion of the sack to be drawn in to the machine as far as he considers necessary, which thereby causes the portion of the sack within the machine to form a balloon or loop, as indicated in Figure 4, this being due partly to the suction effect created by the beaters and the ballooning being produced by air being forced through the interstices of the sack which accumulates within the loop or balloon thus formed so that the beaters and brushes act as it were on a cushion of air, the balloon itself being resilient and allowing the beaters and brushes to successively pass in rapid rota tion and thus to be constantly agitated or bounced up and down as well as beaten and brushed. In this way the dried material in the sack. orthe clods of partly pasty material adhering thereto are quickly broken up and removed and pass downwards into the discharge funnel or hopper 0, upon the lower end of which a bag or sack may be arranged to catch the falling material.

When the operator considers that the portion of sack has been treated suiliciently the treadle 12 can be slightly relaxed to ease the grip of the retarder w 50 that another part of the sack can be drawn up through the slot and around the roller for treatment by the beaters and brushes.

The process of cleaning the sack is therefore carried out in successive stages and if necessary the sack may be passed through the machine again if it has not been sufficiently cleaned. A sack or bag may be first passed through the ma-' chine so that the outside is treated and may be then passed through the machine a second time after being turned inside out, so that thorough cleaning may be ensured.

It will be understood that the machine may be modified in various ways, for example, the beaters may be increased in number than that described in the foregoing and the beater devices although usually made of leather, may be made of spring sheet steel or of stout rubber to allow flexing.

The brushing members may consist of ordinary hard bristles'having much the same stiflness as a clothes brush, but any form of bristle may be used depending upon the material forming the sack and the Work to be done.

The air beating blades or vanes I attached to the brushes may be either flat or may be corrugated, or if desired may be furnished with perforations, and means may be provided to radially adjust either the brushes, the air beater vanes or the metal tipped beaters.

In order to prevent the fingers of the operator being injured when passing the sack into or through the slot, the movement outwards of the roller may coincide with the placing of a safety plate across the slot. For this purpose the treadle v of the machine at the other side of the fulcrum.

1) may be connected by link :1: to a sl ding plate 1/ fitted close behind the. front wall of the casin so that as the roller is withdrawn so the safety plate will be moved upwards and across the slot and thus prevent injury to the hands of the operator. Such a construction of the roller and slot as described, permits the operator to manipulate the saok for being properly'cleaned; thus he may either draw the sack towards him with an equal pull from both hands or he may cause an irregular action by making the pull of one hand stronger than the other and raising or lowering it relatively to the other.

prevented by a deflectorz arranged immediately behind the upper edge of the slot.

Iclaim: m I

l. A machine for cleaning sacks and like articles comprising a casinghaving a slot therein for the introduction of a loop-like foldedpart of the article to be cleaned, guide means for said article located within the slot, means in said casing operable upon the exterior of said folded part to subject the latter to a cleaning action, and means for releasably clamping one portion of said article in position adjacent one part of said slot, the remaining portion ofthe article being freely movable through another part of said slot.

2. A'machine for cleaning sacks and like articles comprising a casing having a slot therein for the introduction of a loop-like folded part of the article to be cleaned, guide means for said article located within the slot, means in said casin operable upon the exterior of said folded part to subject the latter to a cleaning action, and means for displacing said guide means to an inoperative position to facilitate'intr'oduction and folding of said article. i

3. A machine for cleaning sacks and like 'articles comprising a casing having 'a slot therein for the introduction of a loop-like folded part of the article to be cleaned, guide means for said article located within the slot, means in said casing operable upon the exterior of said folded part to subject the latter to' a cleaning action, means for releasably clamping the article in position adjacent said slot, and means for simultaneously displacing said guiding and clamping means to inoperative position.

4. A machine for cleaning sacks and like articles comprising a casing having a slot therein for the introduction of a loop-like folded part of the article to be cleaned, rotatable means in said casing for producing a suction effect within the slot, tending to draw the article therethrough, means enclosed by said casing for subjecting said folded part to a cleaning action, and guide means v the article to be cleaned, rotatable means in said casing for producing-a suction effect within the slot, tending to draw the article therethrough, means enclosed by said casing for subjecting said folded part to a cleaning action, guide means in said. slot for maintaining said folded part in the vicinity of the slot in substantially open condition, and releasable means engageable with at least a portion of the article to prevent withdrawal through said slot.

6. A machine for cleaning sacks and like articles comprising a casing having a slot therein for the introduction of a part of the article to be cleaned, means for guiding said part of the article and formin an open loop-like fold therein, control means for displacing said guiding means to inoperative position, and a safety member operable by said control means upon displacement of said guiding means to close said slot, and means enclosed by said casing for subjecting the loop-like fold of the article to a cleaning action.

'7; A machine for cleaning sacks and like articles comprising a casing having a vertical Wall and a slot in said Wall therein for the introduction of a part of the article to be cleaned, means for guiding said part of the article and forming an open loop-like fold therein, rotary cleaning means enclosed by said casing arranged to sweep across said slot for subjecting the loop-like fold of the article to acleaning action, and a deflector arranged within the casing immediately above the slot to prevent the escape of dust and grit.

CLAUDE LEONARD KING. 

